Decius wrote:
One Democratic win that I think folks on MemeStreams might think twice about cheering is the close Senate race in Montana which gave Republican Conrad Burns the boot. Burns has been a leader in Telecommunications and Internet Policy for many years. I don't agree with everything that he has done in the space, but there is a lot this community would thank him for. Most importantly, I think, is his successful effort to liberalize Crypto export controls. I'm linking a speech he gave on the subject in 1996:

American businesses and computer users face a threat _ and it's a threat from their own government _ because the current administration won't let American companies export encryption at a level higher than 40 bits....

What this means is that commerce and communication on computer networks including the Internet is not reaching its full potential.

While certainly there is a lot of potentially valid criticism of Burns out there, the Internet probably won't be better off for having him out of office.

But will it be better protected by a Democratic majority is the more crucial question.

Liking Burns -- or anyone else -- individually wasn't the point of this election. The point was to overturn the *culture* of executive authoritarianism and a rubberstamp legislative branch. I pretty much couldn't care less if Burns singlehandedly made the internet safe from every threat if every other vote he cast was morally and philosophically repellent to me. I'm not saying that's the case, mind you, but I am arguing that there are bigger issues at stake than what a single politician might or might not have done. We need a sea change, and while I'm not convinced that everything's gonna be super henceforth, I'm glad the tables are turned. If a few not-so bad republicans (i'm looking at Chafee too) lost in order to change the course of the remainder of Bush's presidency, then so be it.

And before the barrage starts, I'm aware that the Democrats might well fuck us on internet issues, censorship and DRM, but compared with a republican party that has ceaselessly undermined the very foundations upon which the nation was built in pursuit of unchecked power and a president who has fucked up every single thing he's touched, well, I'll take that risk.

I'd let the internet die and change professions before I'd abet this president or any other national candidate for the party that allowed him to behave as he has.

RE: One Democratic win I'm not happy about...